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Thursday, April 19

Still more adventures in eBaying

by Mike on Thu 19 Apr 2007 11:28 PM EDT

I have previously mentioned my collection of "Socialist Realism" artwork and related memorabilia in my home library. I have also mentioned the shortage — or make that the virtual absence — of wall space in the area as well. In fact, I had pretty much figured that my days of acquiring large items were pretty much over because most of my wall space is covered by items large and small. Add to this that I have huge bookcases stacked to maximum capacity as well as my comic book collection in the room as well and one can probably appreciate just how stuffed this room has become. However, I recently came upon an item on eBay that I just couldn't pass up despite its size and my relative shortage of display space. The item was banner which was previously owned by the Leningrad district Komsomol Council. The banner commemorates the 50th anniversary of Komsomol. I was really, really enamored with the item and after a bit of consideration (and a bit of discussion with my incredibly gracious "better half"), I purchased the banner and waited with excitement to receive it in the mail.

The asking price for the item was a rather tidy sum (by my standards, anyway), but the banner seems to me to have quite a bit of historical value given the importance of Leningrad in the history of the USSR and considering the pivotal events of 1968 in the history of the world socialist movement. Now, the dimensions were included in the listing, but for some reason, 4 feet by 5 feet really didn't seem that big to me. But tonight, as I unpacked the item from its mailer, the picture became a bit clearer to me: Basically, I have no space for this piece — At least not with the current configuration of the room, anyway. Argh! So there is work to be done...

The fact of the matter is that I am going to have to get creative in how I display his item. It is just too amazing to be unappreciated or to be displayed haphazardly. The piece is a two-sided banner made of a very heavy material and the text is embroidered. The text on one side reads: "Workers of all countries, unite! 1918-1968 Leningrad Komsomol Committee" and on the other side it says "For significant success in the celebration of 50th Anniversary of Komsomol." The banner is really a beautiful piece and it is clean and virtually free of all blemishes. It could, I think, easily end up in a museum someday. But for now, I plan to hang the banner vertically from some hooks in the ceiling. One end of the flag includes a sleeve which should fit a curtain rod nicely and I will use some small lengths of chain to connect the rod to the ceiling hooks. This will be a mini-project of sorts for me which should be interesting considering that I am not that handy. Nevertheless, I am hoping the end result will be impressive. I might post a picture of the finished display when it's all put together.

Very special thanks to Eric from Motka.com for packaging the banner with the utmost of care and sending it quickly. Eric also provided the translations for this article.